Dallas Cowboys: Who can the Cowboys afford to release?

The Dallas Cowboys will have some tough decisions to make about their roster in the coming weeks. Which players will become cut day casualties?

The Dallas Cowboys will have a big task ahead of them this offseason as they will need to determine who is expendable before the end of training camp. The team will have some ferocious positional battles to contend with and that could lead to a higher level of play overall but someone has to lose.

The numbers at wide receiver and defensive back appear to be the positions in which the most players could be released. With that in mind let’s take a look at who the Cowboys can afford to release in the coming weeks.

Wide receiver:

The Dallas Cowboys have over 12 wide receivers currently on their roster and that just isn’t going to cut it (no pun intended). The wide receiver battle should be the most brutal and aggressive positional battle during camp and that is not by accident.

It seems like a lock that Cole Beasley (most prolific veteran), Allen Hurns (big free agent signing), and Michael Gallup (third round pick) will make the roster but the battle for the final two or three spots are completely up for grabs. Deonte Thompson was brought in as a free agent and should compete heavily for a big role.

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Terrance Williams (barring anymore off the field incidents) should be on this roster as he is one of the more experienced wide receivers in this offense. Tavon Austin who was brought in via trade is the fastest player on the team, so realistically the Dallas Cowboys clearly have a plan for what they want to do with him.

There seemingly are three spots open behind the starters but they should go to Austin and Williams so that just leaves the sixth spot. Thompson, Cedrick Wilson, Noah Brown, KD Cannon, Lance Lenoir, among others will be battling it out for that final spot.

Wilson is my favorite heading into training camp as he is a sixth-round pick, but Brown is a seventh-round pick with more experience in the offense. Thompson is the most experienced wide receiver out of those players and Cannon could be the fastest.

The bottom line is that a couple of these players will be on the chopping block as the Dallas Cowboys seemed poised to only keep five/six receivers. The final decision should be made between Thompson, Wilson, and Brown and something tells me the sixth round pick will get the opportunity.

Defensive Back:

The Dallas Cowboys are in one of the best situations they have been in for cornerbacks in quite some time. Nothing but young talent, without any major salary cap issues. Jourdan Lewis, Byron Jones, and Chidobe Awuzie are figured to be the starters on the outside and in the slot but other than that not a lot is known about who will start at safety and who will remain on the roster.

Anthony Brown still should push for a starting role, as Marquez White nips at his heels. At safety, there are a ton of question marks especially when you consider all of the smoke surrounding the Earl Thomas situation.

As of right now Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath are the presumptive starters, however, Kavon Frazier will likely compete for a bigger role. There is also the minicamp/OTA’s star Kameron Kelly who has impressed a lot of people and appears to have made an impression on the coaching staff.

Kelly could have a real chance of making a big impact if he continues to impress during training camp. There is also quarterback turned safety Jameill Showers who has made an impact on special teams and has a ton of experience with this coaching staff.

Any way you look at it these are the two areas the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff can afford to let players go as they seem to be the deepest positions on the roster.

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Four/five players from both of these positions will likely be released as the Cowboys continue to build their 53 man roster.

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